One Month Surgeversary!

I can’t believe it’s already been one month since my Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass surgery…Time certainly flies! It hasn’t been an easy journey, going through surgery, recovery, allergic reactions, and finally figuring out what foods I can eat!

Some background information:

At my heaviest weight, which was two weeks before surgery, I tipped the scales at 302 pounds. While some doctors require a pre-surgery diet and others don’t, my doctor did. Unfortunately for me, I found out my surgery date two weeks and one day before my surgery, and the pre-surgery diet was for two weeks before surgery. In all honesty, I felt like I got jipped of being able to binge on whatever I wanted prior to surgery. At the same time, I’d done a really good job of binging on whatever I wanted up until that point.

My two-week pre-surgery diet went pretty well. I had stocked up on Premier Protein shakes prior to my surgery since I was able to get them with coupons from BJs. I had 3 shakes a day plus a high protein, low carb dinner. Typically around 4 oz of protein with vegetables.

Did I follow the diet? Mostly.

Did I cheat? Do chocolate chips after dinner count?

Okay, so I definitely cheated a bit. But I did lose 11 pounds during that two week period, and my doctor was happy with that. My surgery was June 16, 2020 at 7:30 AM, and I needed to be at the hospital by 6 AM. At my weigh-in at the hospital, I weighed in at 292 pounds.

I finally had the surgery!

My surgery went well. I had a Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass. The last thing I remember prior to surgery was looking at the lights overhead and thinking, “Wow, this looks like a real operating room!” The first thing I remember post surgery was, “Ugh, I feel bloated.” The bloated feeling lasted for quite a while – almost a full week. I had some issues in the hospital keeping anything down, but I figured out that was from trying to swallow Tylenol…They just didn’t sit right for me.

When I got home after surgery, my weight was higher than when I went in. Honestly, I was pretty upset about this. How could this be when for the last 3 days, all I’d had was water and half a protein shake? But my entire digestive system was completely out of whack. I needed time to settle and find a new normal.

Also, constipation is real.

On the road to recovery

It took a couple of days, but I got into a routine: Protein shake and vitamins, water, protein shake and calcium chew, water, protein shake and calcium chew, more water. At the one week mark, I was down to 279 so I lost 13 pounds in one week. Amazing.

After a week of only shakes (they totally tasted better before surgery), I started on the “phase-2” diet, which consists of full liquids and pureed foods. Examples? Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, refried beans (homemade), ricotta cheese with marinara, pureed soup, and pureed egg salad.

Again, it took a couple of days, but I adapted a new routine: Breakfast and vitamins, water, lunch and calcium chew, water, half a protein shake, water, dinner and calcium chew, water, half a protein shake, more water. I think the introduction into “real food”, regardless of the fact that it was purees, had a bit of an effect on me because I only lost 3 pounds in week two. I was a bit disappointed, but keep on keeping on.

Real foods

It’s tough. I want the surgery to be a miracle and I want to lose the weight immediately. But it’s a process. I know that. I need to embrace it. The hardest thing I found to embrace was repeated pureed foods. I just got so sick of them.

According to the meal plan suggestion that I was given at the hospital by my surgeon, At week 4, I was able to start on “soft solids”. I was really excited for this, because I felt like things could be so much easier. Cooking at home for my family would be fun again because I might be able to eat at least a version of what I was making for them.

Unfortunately, the road to soft solids hasn’t been super easy. There have been a few foods that haven’t agreed with me (scrambled eggs, namely) and it got me pretty discouraged. But I know that I’ll get there. There are some recipes that I’ve found and made that have been really good, and I can’t wait to share them!

Today, 1 month from my surgery date, I am very proud that I am at 266.6 lbs, which equals a 25.4 lb weight loss! In a month! I’ve also noticed a huge difference in my body and how my clothes fit – that alone because of a 17″ loss!

Life Changes

While my weight going down is awesome, there are other things that have changed, and being that it’s only been one month since my surgery, I am amazed!

My overall sleep is SO much better. I’m no longer waking up multiple times during the night. I go to bed, I sleep, and I wake up when the alarm (or a child) wakes me up. While I’m sleeping, I no longer wake up to my fingers and hands tingling! This started during my first pregnancy, and then it went away. Then during my second pregnancy, it started up again, but it never went away, until now. I also no longer snore. I noticed this almost immediately after surgery. Within a week, my husband confirmed that I was no longer snoring.

The biggest changes I’ve seen is that I also no longer have hideous back pain when I try to do something physical. Last Saturday, I spent about an hour and a half weeding and cleaning up my front garden. In the past, within about ten minutes I would be in severe lower back pain and I would be hunched over and crippled for hours afterwards. But only one month after surgery and 25 pounds lighter, I had absolutely no back pain!

No one ever said this journey would be easy. But one month in, I know that it’s totally worth it!